Innocent Little Girl
by MysticVeil
Summary: I needed to focus on something to get me away from the pain... And that something was the little girl from district 11.


**Hello :) I love the Hunger Games, especially after seeing the movie. But as I was watching, I got the idea for this story. This is not meant to be romantic... at all. Although I love KatnissxCato pairing so there is a bit of that :P but please review!**

The dogs ripped at my skin, trying to tear away the body armour and get to my flesh. Although I had the armour, I could still feel their sharp teeth and they hurt like hell. Snarls and screams filled the air, snarls from the dogs and screams from me. I never thought I would go this way. I thought I would be the victor of the 74th annual Hunger Games. But instead of being at the Capitol in glory, I am literally being torn apart by dogs.

I had given up trying to escape. There was nothing I could do to get away from the mutts. So instead I tried to focus on something else, anything to get me away from this painful place. And I ended up thinking about a particular little girl…

She was from district 11, her name was chosen and no one volunteered in her place… Even though she was only 12 years old. I didn't think much when I first saw her in the chariot; actually the only things I focused on were President Snow and the girl from district 12, the girl on fire. She was beautiful, though I would never admit to anyone that I thought that. But the fact that she was on fire, literally, really caught my attention. Afterwards in the Training Center, Clove and I were out of our chariots and our mentors were talking quickly to us and were piling on the compliments. But I was not focusing on them; I was focusing on the girl on fire. I was angry that she did outshine us, but at the same time I couldn't help but stare at her. She caught me staring and we held each other's gaze for a moment until her stupid, drunken mentor hurried her and the other boy out the big double doors. I watched her until she disappeared, but then something else caught my eye. A small girl with dark skin and the curliest hair I have ever seen. She was standing; actually she almost looked like she was hiding, behind the other district 11 tribute who was a giant. She was so tiny compared to him; well she was tiny compared to anyone. But she seemed shy and… innocent. She did not seem like the kind that should be in this place, she should not be here. I observed her for a bit longer, taking time to notice how adorable she looked. But then our mentors told us to go up to our rooms to go to sleep. But when I finally go to bed, I couldn't find sleep for an hour. I was thinking about fire girl… but then I ended up thinking about the little girl. She reminded me of someone I knew from my home… someone I missed dearly who had died early, far too early at the age of twelve. My little sister. Maybe that's why I couldn't help but stare at the innocent little girl… who I knew was going to be slaughtered. The very thought made my heart ache.

_What the hell am I thinking? _

I should not even be thinking about a stupid girl who is nothing more than a thorn in my side. I would probably have to kill her… but the thought made a shiver run through me. And then I knew that no matter how much I would need to kill her… I would never be able to bring myself to kill something so innocent that never wanted to be here, never did anything to deserve the horrible thing that is happening to her.

o0o

Rue. That was her name, Rue. I discovered this when we trained. I found it hard to watch her because she was really fast. She would usually disappear, but other times I would see her shadowing Katniss, the girl on fire. I never got close to either of them, and to my fury I found myself upset about that. Why am I even caring about them, especially Rue! Why the hell is this happening to me. I never cared for anyone before, sure I had the occasional fling with a girl but besides that I was completely devoted to training so I could be the victor. That was my goal and there was never anything standing in my way. But now there was.

o0o

_10, 9_

The countdown only began and I was feeling not really scared but just apprehensive. I was mentally and physically ready to kill anyone… well almost anyone.

_8, 7_

I glanced at Katniss. She was scared, but she was trying to hide it with a mask of calmness, but I could see through it. She wasn't looking at me, she wasn't looking at anyone. She was focusing completely on the Cornucopia.

_6, 5_

I glanced at Rue. I knew I couldn't look at her, but I was able to see her just out of the corner of my eye. But the strange thing was she seemed to be looking at me already. At that moment I didn't care if people saw me or not, I completely turned by head and looked at her. She didn't seem scared or angry… she seemed almost calm and understanding. She stared at me and the slightest smile formed on her lips. I was bewildered by this small act and I couldn't think of how to respond. I must have looked completely stupid to her.

_1_

My head snapped back to the Cornucopia and I bolted off the pedestal. I pushed Rue out of my mind of focused on who I had to kill.

o0o

I was the leader of the alliance. The alliance consisted of Clove, Glimmer and Marvel. And me of course, I was the leader. I liked Clove; I would even call her a friend. I absolutely hated Glimmer… ugh, I can't stand her. She would cling to my side and I often had the urge to hit her. And then there's Marvel who I really wanted to kill. He was such a complete and utter idiot. But Clove and Marvel were strong at what they did… and sometimes I just wondered why I ever let Glimmer join. Right now she was sleeping on the crook of my elbow and it was driving me crazy because I wanted to move my arm. But she would just resettle on me somewhere else and it would probably be somewhere like my chest which would be worse, so an unmovable arm it is. We were sleeping right below a large tree where Katniss was trapped. We cornered her there and she has not moved. I knew she was hurt, and I was worried about her. The others had fallen asleep quickly but I was still awake; it must be around 3 in the morning. It was still dark out and I couldn't see anything, but I was listening. I was trying to hear anything I could, mostly trying to listen for any signs of Katniss moving. If she did and if I was awake, I would like to get her get away from this idiotic group. But after half an hour, I found myself falling asleep. Katniss didn't sound like she was going anywhere.

The next thing I knew was a nest of tracker jackers had fallen beside us and burst open. I jumped up and ran away as quickly as I could, Clove running ahead of me. I didn't check for any of the others, I was only focusing on getting myself out. We reached a lake and Clove jumped in and I followed her, and Marvel behind me. It took a while for the tracker jackers to leave but when they did, we all shot up from the water for air. I crawled out and began coughing and sputtering, trying to get the water out of me. Marvel began cursing and half crying when he saw that Glimmer was gone. But neither I nor Clove cared. Clove remained silent and just took out her knives and began sharpening them. I sat down and looked at the water. I knew it was Katniss dropped the tracker jackers on us, and who could blame her? If I was in her position I would too.

o0o

I did not see any more of Rue or Katniss until the day our supplies got blown up. I was so infuriated by the explosion that I broke a neck of the bumbling idiot boy trying to tell me it wasn't his fault. I was so angered that I turned away from Clove and ran through the forest. I was armed so I didn't think anything bad would happen. I stopped at the front of the tree and grabbed the sword and slashed at the bark, destroying it. It took me a while to calm down, but I eventually did and then I began walking back to the destroyed sight, but I took a different root. I knew that Katniss had blown it up, maybe even with the help of Rue so right now I was thinking that I would like to kill Katniss. But as I was walking, I heard someone singing. I halted in my tracks and looked for the source of the noise, and then I found it. All the anger drained out of me and it was replaced my mourning. Katniss was holding Rue, who had a huge, bloody wound in her stomach. Katniss was crying while she sang and Rue had a tear falling down her cheek. I was hiding behind a large tree, but I was watching them from the side. The sight was terrible, but I could not look away.

Katniss finished her song and Rue died in her arms. Katniss was still crying as she closed Rue's eyes then she stood and collected some wild flowers. I was surprised she didn't see me, but she seemed to grief-stricken to focus on anything other than Rue. She covered the wound and then she kissed her on the forehead and then she turned and held up three fingers. I had no idea what it meant. But after that she ran away. I came out of my hiding place once she was gone. I walked over to Rue and knelt down beside her. Any anger I had for either of them was gone and I only felt remorse. And right now I didn't care if the capitol saw me with Rue, I didn't care if they saw the "brutal, bloody Cato" and think he has gone soft, or crazy for that matter. I picked up a small white flower that Katniss had dropped and I placed it in Rue's thick, curly hair. She looked very pretty, not like she was dead at all. I almost expected her to open her eyes and sit up. But then I had to remind myself that she was gone, gone and there was nothing I could do about it. And that made me furious. Hatred flooded through me again, but not for Katniss or Rue… it was for the capitol.

"Is this what you want?" I screamed and pointed at Rue's dead body. I kneeled back down and stroked her small hand until I heard the hovercraft approaching and then I went back behind the tree and watched as she was lifted up onto the hovercraft.

_Goodbye Rue_…

A dog bit my leg and I was snapped back to reality. I couldn't take the pain anymore. I stumbled out of the forest and back to the Cornucopia. I saw Katniss standing with her lover boy and she saw me. With all the energy I had left, I said please.


End file.
